Posts Tagged ‘Kieran Lawless’

Boy did we get snap happy during the 10days in Dublin festival! Here’s a random selection of some of our favourite shots

When I saw that Humourisms.com was to present a show during the 10 Days in Dublin festival I immediately wanted to go. As a fan of the website which you can see here, I was intrigued as to what each of the comedians could bring to the gig.

The gang

The gig began with Conor O’Toole introducing the announcer Kevin Lockard who then introduced the hosts for the evening, Damon Blake and George Fox. Damon and George described themselves as nerds, maintained that the gig would be very nerdy and even went as far as describing the host of comedians who we would see during the evening as the villains of Irish comedy. Really? I’m not entirely sure of that! They discussed everything from porn on the internet (we even saw a video of George explaining his porn addiction) to being Irish, this brought Kevin Lockard on stage to talk about his experiences of Ireland. Kevin had some funny material, some of it predictable including the old staple Irish drinking culture and the tracksuit wearing young people. For some of his set I found myself looking at Damon and George’s reactions (who had stayed on stage during his performance) which were funnier than what Kevin was saying.

Next up was The Glen Coco Experience. These were a strange sketch group. They started off well with a joke solo done by David and a punch line solo done by Conor which was quite amusing, they then did an audience participation sketch which had the audience laughing along but their last sketch got lost somewhere between the stage and the audience.

Kieran Lawless was a surprise comedian on the night. He did a short set. He had a mixed reaction from the crowd to his tales of being picked up at various places in Dublin and Galway. Tips from Kieran….if you want to catch him the best place to do this is a bus stop!

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As someone who is quite new to covering the comedy circuit, I was looking particularly forward to seeing Kieran Lawless. My colleague had assured me that I was in for a treat and as a fan of big personalities & confidence in performers, a show entitled; ‘How to boast by the World’s Best Looking and Funniest Comedian’ definitely piqued my interest. Struggling to find a seat in the packed International Bar, the excitement from the audience was palpable as they awaited the big entrance.

An uproarious cheer as Kieran took to the stage was certainly a good start. Exuding great confidence and an all too likable demeanour, Lawless effortlessly engaged the audience from the start with his warm personality. He opened with some natural and personable interaction with the crowd, particularly with the foreign members of the audience; he made them feel welcome, used their stories to strong comedic effect and also to drive the set forward. Conversing with two American couples in particular he showed a deceptively impressive knowledge of US history and contrasted the generally positive expectations of American Tourists visiting Ireland with the more negatively inclined attitudes of the Irish towards their homeland.

Throughout the rest of the set, Lawless reminisced on previous gigs and memorable audience interaction, leading to stories of crude toilet graffiti and contrasting reactions to his material from audiences of different backgrounds. Memorable quips about Ireland in Euro 2012 and bad dating experiences were received very well by all members of the audience and Lawless’ ability to move seamlessly from joke to joke, story to story kept the crowd entertained and engaged throughout.

You may notice a distinct lack of boasting in the above description and you would be right. Conversely, Lawless made light of his shortcomings and less than favourable experiences for the most part. Does this mean that my expectations for personality and confidence were not met? Absolutely not! Lawless’ confidence was displayed in his delivery. Free from over-exaggerated action and meticulously prepared one-liners, Lawless delivered a natural, confident and effortlessly funny performance.  His freeform style might not be to the liking of all audiences but it’s hard to imagine someone who would not appreciate watching a performance by a truly natural comedian.

If you feel like catching a show of Kieran’s, you can follow him on Facebook here or here

In the last of our pre shows natters, we grab a few minutes with Kieran Lawless who is bringing you lessons in ‘How to boast’ by the world’s best looking funniest comedian…..

So Kieran we were going to ask you questions but seeing as your show is about boasting we decided to give you the floor, so are you ready….3,2,1,GO!!!

In case you need a little help, lets ask you some questions! 

Where did you get the idea for the show?

The idea for the show kinda came about by accident. I’ve been doing stand up for a long time now, and when I sat down to write my first full hour, I realized my stand up already had a theme running through it. I’m just really interested in self-confidence and boasting. I just find some of the things people take real pride in to be a little bit ridiculous. Or sometimes as my friends explain to me about how great they are as people, athletes, lovers, whatever, I just find myself thinking “hmmm something just doesn’t sound quite right about this”. Maybe it’s just their need to tell me that makes me a little suspicious. But the theme for the show is just the link for most of the main topics. Most of the show is me just having a bit of fun, and hopefully making the audience laugh too.

Sounds like fun! Are you taking the show on the road this year?

Nothing is officially set up as it stands. I’m actually moving over to Manchester in a few months. They have a comedy festival over there that I’m looking in to. And I’m heading over to the UK more and more these days with my normal comedy set. So, comedy wise, I’ve been keeping very busy, and getting the chance to develop this show further and bring it to a wider audience is something I’m definitely looking forward to.

What are your thoughts on the 10 days in Dublin festival?

It’s amazing. The fact that so many great comics have chosen to perform their shows at the festival this year is testament to how successful the festival has been since its birth. The guys running it really know what they’re doing, and are incredibly supportive to all the acts that come their way looking to perform a show. I’m beginning to sound a bit too kiss-arsey now, but I really think that 10 days is a brilliant addition to the Comedy and Arts world in Dublin.

So Kieran as your show is all about boasting, it’s your time to boast! What has been your greatest achievement to date?

I think it’s probably winning the Bulmers Comedy Competition in 2007. It was the only major newcomer competition in Ireland at the time, so it felt like a really big deal. I was also more nervous for the final, than for any other gig I’ve ever done. I actually quit comedy before I went on stage. I was thinking “why the hell am I doing this to myself? This is the worst feeling. I don’t care if I win; I never want to go through this ever again. This is my last gig”. Then I won, and the idea of quitting comedy was completely forgotten. It was also that competition that gave me the chance to play the Olympia theatre, which was amazing. It also opened the door for me to a lot of clubs that I’d previously found it difficult to get gigs in.

If you fancy catching Kieran, you can do so at The International on Tuesday July 10th at 6pm or if you fancy winning a pair of free tickets, mail us at competitions@thecomedyscoop for your chance to win!

Don’t they say the best things in life are free? Well we here at the Comedy Scoop certainly thinks so  So just for you our lovely readers we have managed to get our hands on tickets to some of the best comedy gigs during the 10 days in Dublin festival. Here are those gigs we have tickets to:

• Lorcan Mc Grane takes to the Twisted Pepper stage on Fri 6^th and Sat 7^th @ 7.30pm and we can get you in to see him free either day
• Get tickets for ‘Brainwashed’ by Cormac Moore in The Workman’s either Sat 7th or Sun 8th @7.30pm

• Fancy seeing Vinny Mc Hale in Whelan’s?  He’s on Mon 9th @7.30pm

• Kieran Lawless takes over The International on Tues 10th @6pm
• 4comedians then band together to bring you 3Men and a Bitter Lady and we have tickets for either Tues 10th or Wed 11th in The Twisted Pepper @ 7.30pm
• Sketch comedy experts Foil Arms and Hog will be entertaining punters in The Workmans on Wed 11th @7.30pm – we have 1 pair left!

• Rory O’Hanlon can be found in The International Bar on Wed 11th @ 6.30pm
• Aidan Killian is happy to welcome you to Bad Ass on Wed 11th and Thurs 12th @9pm and we are lucky enough to have one pair of tickets for both nights
• Taking to the The Stags Head stage on Thurs 12th @9pm is Danny O’Brien with his show ‘All my Friends’

• The Princes of Lagos bring improv to 4Dame Lane on Thurs 12th @8.30pm
• ‘Game Boys’ will be live in The International Bar @6.30pm on Thurs 12th

• The crew from Humourisms.com will bring their show to The Workman’s on Sat July 14th @7.30pm
• Michael Downey’s return to comedy begins on Sat 14th @8.30pm

So have you seen something that takes your fancy? You have? Well fab! All you need to do is send us a mail to competitions@thecomedyscoop.com and tell us who you would like tickets for and let us do the rest! Why not have a night out on us eh? Get entering now!!